Miami Dolphins Talking Points: Does Matt Moore deserve a little benefit of the doubt in the QB race?

A trio of Dolphins talking points with training camp set to start in three days:

1. Does Matt Moore deserve a little benefit of the doubt in the QB race?

Dolphins coach Joe Philbinsaid at the NFL owners’ meetings in March, before the team had drafted Ryan Tannehill in the first round, that incumbent quarterback Matt Moore doesn’t have any sort of advantage over newcomer David Garrard in the competition for the starting job.

“I told David, my only obligation to Matt Moore is he’s a member of the 2012 Dolphins,” Philbin said at the time. “He’s under contract, he played well last year and he deserves an opportunity to compete for a starting job, just like David does.”

Sure enough, throughout much of the offseason practices from April to June, there has been a lot of buzz – the kind of unsourced buzz that makes its way around talk radio and the interwebs – that Garrard has outplayed Moore. On top of that, agent Drew Rosenhaus said Sunday night on 7 Sports Xtra that he expects Garrard to open camp on Friday with the First Team offense, ahead of Moore. And Rosenhaus certainly hears what’s going on – he currently represents nine players on the Dolphins, including three wide receivers.

But has Garrard really leapfrogged Moore in the quarterback race just based off of his performance in May and June? Does Moore’s 2011 season with the Dolphins mean nothing? And if Moore and Garrard are about even after four weeks of training camp, does Moore not deserve any benefit of the doubt based on his incumbent status?

Don’t forget, owner Stephen Ross did let it slip in May that Moore “will probably be the starter.” And in Reggie Bush’s mind, Moore is still ahead of Garrard, at least for now.

“I know Matt Moore is maybe the leader right now, because he’s the returning starting quarterback from last year,” Bush said Monday at his youth football camp he co-hosted with Jason Taylor. When asked if last year’s performance will factor into Philbin’s decision at quarterback, Bush said, “I’m sure it’s going to have something to do with it.”

No offense to Garrard, who may indeed be a better fit for the quick-passing offense being installed, but Dolphins fans seem quick to forget how good Moore was in the second half of 2011 (although he would be the first to admit that he needs to cut down – a lot – on his 13 fumbles from last year):

* Moore helped the team finish 6-3 to close out the season after starting 0-7, including wins over Kansas City, the Jets, Oakland and two over Buffalo.

* He finished a respectable 12th in NFL passer rating (87.1, ahead of Jay Cutler, Michael Vick, Cam Newton and Carson Palmer) despite not getting any reps with the first team offense (even in preseason) until subbing for Chad Henne in the second quarter of Week 4.

* The Dolphins offense averaged 24.67 points over their last nine games (15.29 points their first seven games).

Taylor said that no matter how well Garrard played this spring, the offseason workouts mean little in the grand scheme of the QB competition.

“I hate to minimize the offseason, but it’s great to look good in OTAs,” Taylor, now an ESPN analyst, said Monday. “Nobody’s getting hit, there’s no real rush, no real coverage, no real bump and run. It’s easy to look good in the OTAs. Not to take anything away from David, because he may be playing very well, but the real test starts Thursday when they get to camp.”

But Taylor also doesn’t believe that Moore should just be handed the job this year based off his performance last year. Moore, who will be 28 next month, has been successful in spurts in his five NFL seasons, but never in consecutive years.

“I think competition breeds excellence, and it makes people work harder and pay more attention and focus more,” Taylor said. “This league is about winning right now, and whoever gives you the best opportunity to win, you have to pick those guys.”

Philbin better hope for one of the quarterbacks to clearly establish himself, because otherwise the competition could become fodder for debate not just on talk radio, but also in his own locker room.

Already there is buzz that some of the receivers like the way Garrard, a career 85.8 passer and one-time Pro Bowler, runs the new West Coast Offense. And some of the players, especially some of the holdovers from last year’s team, will probably stand by Moore based on what he did for the team in the second half of 2011. If Moore and Garrard perform similarly during training camp, Philbin’s decision could upset some players in the locker room.

“I don’t think they have the overly strong personalities that are going to gripe and moan about the ball,” Taylor said of the receivers.

But it sure would make Philbin’s life easier if one of the quarterbacks clearly stands out above the others.

3. Brian Hartline picks his sleeper WRs.

One of the hot topics entering training camp is, Who exactly will catch the football at wide receiver this year? We know Brian Hartline and Davone Bess will be part of the offense, but otherwise there are 10 players fighting for four or five more spots – Chad Johnson, Legedu Naanee, Clyde Gates, Roberto Wallace, Marlon Moore, Julius Pruitt, Chris Hogan, B.J. Cunningham, Rishard Matthews and Jeff Fuller.

This morning, a reader asked me on Twitter if I think Pruitt will make the roster, and I answered that if the Dolphins keep six receivers (a distinct possibility), I like Johnson (Ochocinco), Naanee, Wallace and Pruitt.

Johnson and Naanee give the Dolphins the veteran experience they desperately need at the position, Wallace is playing well and has the best size/athleticism combo of the bunch at 6-4, 225 pounds, and Pruitt is a demon on special teams, excelling in all six phases. Even if the Dolphins only keep five receivers, I think Pruitt and Wallace have a better chance than Naanee, who doesn’t contribute as much on special teams.

Turns out, I’m not the only one who likes Wallace’s and Pruitt’s chances of making the 53-man roster. Hartline, speaking to season ticket holders in a conference call Monday evening, singled out Pruitt and Wallace as his sleepers.

“Julius is really putting the work in and he’s doing a phenomenal job,” Hartline said. “Breakout and some superstar Victor Cruz kind of thing? No, that’s not what I see happening. But he’s doing a great job, he’s really honing his role and really doing it to the best of his ability.”

Hartline also added, “I think Roberto is doing a great job as well in the wide receiver room.”

And he said Pruitt should once again expect to have a big impact on special teams.

“I hate to put guys in a box and say he’s not going to start or anything like that,” Hartline said. “But I mean, he’s definitely going to make a huge impact on the special teams.”